The Sarasota Experiment Results Are In!

As I noted in the previous post, it had been over four months since I posted anything at all and a busy four months they were.  In April we decided the Sarasota experiment was a success and that we should sell our Tennessee home and move to Sarasota full time.  In Sarasota I am able to pedal for Parkinson’s twice a week, play tennis two to three times a week, attend a Dance for PD class once a week along with yoga, tai chi and general exercise classes.  And I don’t have to travel 45 minutes to attend any class, everything is within a 10 – 15 minute drive which makes it easy to ‘get up and go’ exercise. So I have updated the cover photo to a great beach sunset with two dolphins enjoying the view and made some modifications to my profile over there on the right.

More and more studies are showing that exercise is one of the keys to living with PD (or just living in general).  While it seems like I am taking on more that I should, I find instead that the more I take on, the better I am able to deal with my PD symptoms.  This has certainly proved out during the 3 months we have been in Tennessee, my exercise routine dropped to almost nothing and I can tell my symptoms are worse.

So we finished April in Sarasota with a visit from our friends Tom and Marilyn.  We enjoyed sunsets on the beach, nice walks in the complex where we live, touring the Ringling estate and Selby Gardens and kayaking through the mangrove tunnels near Lido Key.

In early May we returned to Tennessee and started the process of getting the house and grounds ready to sell.  We also had a visit from my brother-in-law Mike and my sister Marcia and we took a trip to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, a bear sighting trip through Cades Cove in the Smokies (yep we saw some bears) and a lot of fishing!

In June we worked on the home and squeezed in a trip to Bald Head Island with Dave and Shelley and Breanna and Garrett.  By the middle of June we were ready to put the house on the market and we listed it on a Friday and sold it on Monday, just before the first of the summer visitors arrived! At the end of the month, Dale Monica and Angelina and Ariana arrived to celebrate the fourth of July, a birthday or two and the sale of our house.  And on July 4th Ryan Sarah Julian and Trysten arrived to  celebrate the holiday and spend some time on the lake.
After the first round of visitors left, Holly, Paul, Charlie and Kayla arrived for a visit at the end of July and we enjoyed the lake and took a trip up to Gatlinburg for lunch and mini golf.

We had a great time with everyone and are glad everybody got a final visit to the Lake Cottage. At the end of the month Mara and I went to Townsend to celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary and my 71st birthday.  It was a great 3 days of R and R after a hectic couple of months getting ready for the house sale and visitors.

Since the Townsend trip we have been packing and deciding what to sell and what to keep.  This weekend we will hold an estate sale and the house will be empty.  We will stay until the 22nd since we are on the direct path for the full eclipse on the 21st.  Then we will make a quick trip to West Virginia to visit granddaughter Breanna before returning to Sarasota by the 1st of September.

July 24th marked the 4 years since being diagnosed with PD and I do believe that I was doing better while maintaining my Sarasota exercise routine and I am looking forward to gearing back up to see if I notice a difference.  I visited my PD doctor last week and he was pleased with my overall condition and he recommended no change in medication levels, just continue to exercise.

August 6th also marked 4 years publishing this blog and, once again I could make my usual promise that I will do better and post more. But since all that does is set high expectations for you and feelings of impending doom for me, I’m going with no promise this year.  After all It Is What It Is!

Speaking of exercise, last week the NPR show The Peoples Pharmacy aired a show about Pedaling for Parkinson’s and the advantages of exercise in general.  The show includes an interview with Kathy Helmuth, who is the instructor of our Pedaling class in Sarasota along with interviews with Dr. Jay Alberts who discovered the benefits of “forced exercise” for PD patients and Dr.Jordan Metzel who discusses the benefits of exercise for us all.  You can download or listen to the podcast here.

So that is a condensed version of pretty much all that has been happening for the last four months.  Next time I will be posting from Sarasota and, hopefully, talking about changes we have seen since getting back into a regular exercise routine.  Until then, thanks for reading and for sticking around during my 4 month hiatus.

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

 

2 Comments

  1. Hi Tom,

    I recently joined your blog post and feel inspired to keep up the exercise routine that I have put in place. We visited Longboat Key last year and enjoyed the area. Good luck to you. Thanks for blogging. Carole Ries. Westchester, NY

    • Hi Carole,
      Keep up the exercise routine it is the best thing we have to delay the progression and keep moving. Thanks for following my blog.
      Tom

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